Merry-go-round (1923)

Merry-go-round, from 1923, is set in the crumbling, pre-war & WW1 Austrian empire. A young girl works in an amusement park in Prater. She is an organ grinder. A man, Hohenegg, a nobleman about to get married, pursues her. The feelings are mutual. He presents himself as an ordinary working man. Soon, the scam is exposed. Even though one might see that Erich von Stroheim (who directed some parts of the film, Rupert Julian replacing him later on in the process) is trying to tell us something about changes in Austrian culture, the film is far from being a Man without qualities. In the film, the aristocracy spend their time mistreating their servants, being jealous, carousing, being dishonest. It's a rather bleak picture. Overall, this is a messy film that trades in grotesque images and a love story we have seen a thousand times (or more). I'd be much more interested in watching Greed, a real von Stroheim movie.